M35 SS DD real or fake?

Article about: Hello! This is my first post here. Dimas has given me his opinion on a helmet that I have bought. And he suggested that I post some pictures of the helmet on this forum to get a second opini

Re: M35 SS DD real or fake?

Thank you guys for your input, although I have been collecting for a good few years I am only just getting to grips with the helmet side of things !, it was purchased from a specialist dealer here in the midlands, he seems to have a fair few of this type of rarety, now i know why! i will post exactly who once I have my money back, I have contacted him about this and he has offerd to exchange it for other goods, not refund, but i have no desire to own any more of his wares after this, even if he is convinced its dead right, this shows his apperent lack of knowledge, so does any body know from a legal stand point what i should be telling him to get my refund?, I do have a signed C.O.A from him for the helmet from him so will i need some sort of certificate to say its a bad helmet?

Re: M35 SS DD real or fake?

by Ron.B

Thank you guys for your input, although I have been collecting for a good few years I am only just getting to grips with the helmet side of things !, it was purchased from a specialist dealer here in the midlands, he seems to have a fair few of this type of rarety, now i know why! i will post exactly who once I have my money back, I have contacted him about this and he has offerd to exchange it for other goods, not refund, but i have no desire to own any more of his wares after this, even if he is convinced its dead right, this shows his apperent lack of knowledge, so does any body know from a legal stand point what i should be telling him to get my refund?, I do have a signed C.O.A from him for the helmet from him so will i need some sort of certificate to say its a bad helmet?

I would suggest showing him this thread to begin with. If he gives you the old adage "those internet guys don't know what they are talking about" alibi. you know he is not being honest with you. I have been at this since 1956. Some items are impossible to tell for sure without in hand examination. However, this helmet is so bad, even a blind man could tell it is a piece of junk(no insult intended). Mismatched liner, bad decals and a paint finish that has no similarity at all to that found on period helmets. Don't exchange this junk for more junk.

Re: M35 SS DD real or fake?

Got to agree with everyone , the decals and the paint job are very poor and in the flesh wouldn't pass the first test , this dealer either doesn't know his business very well if he thinks it is good or he knows it's a piece of junk.

I am at Militaria Fairs in the UK Regulary and unfortunately Helmets like this ie fakes are very common, from my own experience it is rare but not impossible these days to see one which is right.

Saw one at Leeds earlier this year which someone had bought for £3500 which was a complete dud , it was a £200 no decal helmet at best.

Thought shall be the harder , heart the keener,
Courage the greater as our strength faileth.
Here lies our leader ,in the dust of his greatness.
Who leaves him now , be damned forever.
We who are old now shall not leave this Battle,
But lie at his feet , in the dust with our leader

Re: M35 SS DD real or fake?

IMO you can't find a great DD SS helmet from a dealer just for £3500.
A couple of years ago my Russian friend bought one M38 DD with a lot of battledamages and without leather parts from one englich dealer for 4000 eur, the SS DD IMO a little bit better than a FJ helmet...

Re: M35 SS DD real or fake?

3000-5000 USD , I'll pay immediately for a DD helmet in that condition

I agree with you Dimas, they are fetching 4-5K pounds! A good DD SS was for sale at the SOS on wolfe hardings pitch, that was $12K

Funny though, when i started collecting all those years ago, SS helmets AND equipment was un heard of, sadly at nearly every show, there is always someone trying to pull the wool over someone's eyes,camo's battle damaged mint, and barn finds and sadly a lot fall for it, it's only when they come to sell their pride and joy, they get a nasty shock! Although i usually say "not today thank you"

Books are good, ( but not all) and a necessity, but handle a few real ones, and the fakes are never difficult to spot sorry about the lid in the post, but as the rest say....not good

Re: M35 SS DD real or fake?

Thanks !, im going to see him next week so ill keep you posted on the outcome.
Thankfully I parted with a relatively small amount of money in comparison to the £3500 guy!!!, I should imagine that if you listen carefully he can still be heard weeping quietly in a corner somewhere!.
On a different note, can any one tell me a source of info on feld post numbers?, i have a few items, gas mask , hekmet that have feld post numbers and i want to find what they are?. any info on this would be appreciated.

Re: M35 SS DD real or fake?

Re: M35 SS DD real or fake?

the only thing that was real was the helmet Shell,and possibly the liner ring,The liner is thrashed,( No RBNr Inside Liner?)The helmet string is Not a standard Helmet String, the paint scheme is wrong.again some fool has tried to destroy another piece of history.